[Farmall] TRACTOR PULLING story, question.

[Frank DeWitt]

I have watched Tractor pulling a number of times.  I have figured out 
that there are classes, and that the longest distance wins, and that 
the weight is transferred from the wheels to the sled as the tractor 
pulls,  I have also figured out that there are a lot of other rules 
and a lot of tricks.  Any one want to explain a few.

At one show I watched as a old guy worked his way slowly to a old 
JD  He turned the fly wheel very slowly,  and finally it started.  I 
watched as he made his way around the tractor and turned off the 
compression release.  He spent a long time getting on the tractor and 
drove to the end of the track and waited.

When his turn came he pulled into position with one smooth 
motion.  They dropped the flag and the chain came up tight and the 
sled moved, again with a continues smooth motion.  I had observed 
that most would bring the chain up tight, then put in the clutch, 
give it some gas and take off again. He just kept going and going.

Near the end of his run there was some fancy foot work,  Never any 
wheel spin I could see until the end.  then about 5 deg of rotation 
and he was done.  Didn't seem like much had happened.  the following 
runs had more noise, more spinning wheels, and more waving back and 
forth across the tract, He just sat there off to the side with the 
engine running,  When it was over they called his name.  He drove up 
in front of the stands, and apparently they thought enough of him to 
walk his trophy out to him.

He drove back to the exact spot he had left, and shut the tractor 
off.  I didn't want to watch him get off, but if I had a tractor 
there that day I would have asked him for lessons.  I suspect what I 
saw was what he learned in the field in front of a plow.  not what he 
learned at the track.

Frank